Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ From Here to Eternity ❯ Gloves, Beds, and Bathrooms ( Chapter 33 )

Kat: ZOMG! So many reviews! -cries- But I have no time to post my responses! Sorry, guys!

 

Warnings: -coughhack- YAOI! OOCness! A really bitchy Kin! And SHOPPING! Ahoy!

 

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Gaara had never, not once in his life, seen Temari so truly happy. Here she was, talking and laughing freely with people she hardly knew, when a week ago she had been a stone cold prep android. Gaara smiled. It was nice to see his sister so happy.

 

They were in the mall food court, now, crammed around a table made for four people, plates of pizza sitting in front of them. Gaara sat at one corner, next to Sasuke, who was next to Hinata, next to Temari, next to Tayuya, next to Ten-Ten, then back to Gaara.

 

“Hey, fool, are you going to eat that?” Ten-Ten asked, pointing to Gaara's Styrofoam plate. The large, square piece of pizza sat steaming in the middle of it, its corners flapping onto the table. He had yet to take a bite, as he was a bit busy enjoying the closeness of Sasuke.

 

“Yes,” Gaara said curtly. Ten-Ten put her hands in the air.

 

“Just asking,” she said, taking a sip of her water. Gaara gingerly picked up the pizza, and blew on it. Then he turned it around, trying to find a place to bite into without burning his mouth off.

 

“Try folding it,” Tayuya offered, making a folding motion with her hands. Her own pizza was half eaten, and sitting down on her plate. She picked up one of the remaining breadsticks, dipped it in the Marenara sauce, and took a bite.

 

Gaara carefully folded the piping hot pizza over, pieces of pepperoni dangling at the edges. “Like this?”

 

“Yeah. Careful, though,” the fellow redhead said, biting her lip.

 

“How come?” Gaara said, before taking a bite. Suddenly, the toppings of the pizza slid out the other end, and fell onto his lap, creating a burning sensation. It hurt. A lot. “SHIT!”

 

“That's… why…” Tayuya said weakly. Gaara pushed his chair back, and stood up quickly, brushing the cheese, pepperoni, and sauce off of his nether regions.

 

“Fuck,” he breathed, turning pink. “I'm… uh… gonna go clean this up a little,” he said, before making a quick exit, trying to avoid the stares coming from the other tables.

 

“Bah… Damn,” Ten-Ten said, picking up the cheese that Gaara had dropped, and plopping it onto her own empty plate. “I'm gonna throw this away,” she said, standing. Sasuke was watching Gaara disappear down the hall that led to the bathrooms.

 

“I'm going with him,” he decided, also standing.

 

“Yeah, have fun with that,” Temari said, rolling her eyes. “You're gonna get yourself killed.”

 

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but pushed his chair back, and followed the trail of nervous looks that Gaara had left in his path.

 

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`Oh my God I am such a fucking idiot,' Gaara mentally screamed, wiping at the stain on his legs and the bottom of his sweatshirt with a wet paper towel. `I can't believe I just did that. Oh. My. God.' His face burned with embarrassment, and his hands were shaking. `I can't go back out there, not with Sasuke-`

 

“Hey, Gaara, you okay?” Sasuke said, stepping into the bathroom, pushing the swinging door aside.

 

`SHIT!' Gaara thought, looking around. But there was nowhere to hide; Sasuke had already seen him.

“Fine,” he said, his voice sounding weak and strangled. “Just fine, no need to come in!”

 

But Sasuke decided to come in anyway, letting the door swing shut behind him. “Ouch, that must have burned. Are you all right?” he said. Gaara nodded quickly.

 

“Just peachy.”

 

Sasuke was silent for a moment. Then, in a very out of character way, he giggled. That's right… he GIGGLED.

 

“You know, Gaara? You can be really funny sometimes,” he said, once the giggle-attack had ceased. Gaara couldn't stop staring.

 

“R…Really?”

 

“Yeah, you know, when you aren't in full-blown Goth-mode,” Sasuke said. Gaara let a small smile form on his lips, before tossing the paper towel into the garbage.

 

“I guess it can't get any worse,” he mumbled, staring down at his legs, before pulling off his sweatshirt. “Oh dear sweet… Jesus.” The stain was worse than he had thought. It reached all the way up to his crotch, making it look like he had wet himself. He blushed furiously, and glanced up at Sasuke, who was struggling not to grin.

 

“It's no big deal,” he said. “Just tie your sweatshirt around your waist… Guess Temari wants to buy you new clothes anyway, right?”

 

“R-Right,” Gaara said, tying the dark blue hoodie around his hips. “Well… I guess it's not too bad.”

 

“Oh, Gaara?” Sasuke said, before pointing to his own face. “Right here,” he said, tapping his cheek.

 

Gaara didn't know what he was doing, but before he could stop himself, he leaned forward, and kissed Sasuke on the cheek.

 

KISS. SASUKE UCHIHA. CHEEK.

 

Gaara didn't really understand what he had just done until Sasuke stepped away in shock. “What… uh…”

 

“Holy shit, I am so sorry,” Gaara said, stepping back, and facing the sink, his face pressed into his hands. Sasuke had turned a faint pink color, his own hand pressed against the side of his face. “I… Christ, I…” Gaara caught sight of his face in the mirror. There was something on his cheek… something red…

 

Oh.

 

Shit.

 

There was pizza sauce on his face.

 

Pizza sauce.

 

On his fucking FACE.

 

Gaara wiped it onto his sleeve, and stared at it. Then he down to his knees, his fists braced against the sinks.

 

“OH MY GOD… THERE WAS… There was…” He closed his eyes, praying to God that this was just a nightmare he was going to wake up from.

 

“Uh… Gaara… Gaara? Gaara!” Sasuke said, also dropping down to his knees, and shaking the freshman by the shoulder. “Yo!”

 

“EH?” Gaara snapped out of his trance of embarrassment, but not before falling over onto his rear, his back pressed against the wall. To his ultimate astonishment, Sasuke was… giggling. AGAIN.

 

`Who are you, and what have you done with my crush?' he wanted to ask, but his vocal cords seemed to have ceased their vocation.

 

“Gaara… it's okay…” Sasuke said, with a smile. “Gaara… Do you… like me?”

 

Gaara could do nothing but nod. Well, almost nothing. “I-I mean, I like you, I've liked you for a while, but I know you don't like me, and that's okay-“

 

Before he could continue, Sasuke leaned forward, and pressed his lips to Gaara's, cutting off the redheads nervous babbling.

 

But then, almost as quickly as it had started, it ended. Sasuke pulled away, leaving Gaara with his eyes closed, in a state of euphoria.

 

“Sa…su…ke…” he said, opening his eyes. Sasuke's pink had elevated to magenta.

 

“I think I like you, too,” he said softly, glancing down at the floor.

 

It took Gaara a moment to regain his sense of self, and ability to process thoughts. When he did, he blinked. “Oh. Well… that's good to know.”

 

`Oh, THAT WAS BRILLIANT, Gaara! Oh, yeah. “That's good to know.” You idiot,' he shouted to himself, blushing a deeper shade of tomato.

 

“So… we like… each other?” Gaara continued, ignoring the voice in his head. Sasuke nodded.

 

“It would seem that way.”

 

An awkward silence fell over them, and for at least two minutes, they sat staring at random objects on the walls and on the floor.

“I guess… we should go back,” Sasuke said, scratching the back of his head, and still quite pink.

 

“Y… Yeah. Right.” Gaara clumsily got to his feet. “So… are we… a thing, now?”

 

“…Sure.”

 

Gaara would have said more, but Sasuke kissed him once again, and he decided that no more words were needed.

 

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“You two look like you've got a dirty little secret or something,” Ten-Ten remarked as they aimlessly ambled down the long stretch of shops in the mall. Gaara made a point not to look at her, and Sasuke continued staring straight ahead. Hinata simpered along next to Temari, glancing in the shop windows, but not really looking at anything. Tayuya yawned, stretching her arms above her head. But then she noticed someone, and her yawn was interrupted partway through.

 

“Oh… shit,” she hissed, pulling her beanie down over her face.

 

“What? What is it?” Temari asked, glancing around, clearly confused.

 

“It's my ex-boyfriend…” Tayuya moaned, crouching behind the blonde. “Kidomaru… Fuck. I'm fucking dead. Fuck.”

 

“Oh, that bastard! Who's he think he is, with HER?” Ten-Ten demanded, glaring defiantly at no one Gaara could see.

 

He looked down through the crowd, noticing a group of people he recognized from the halls of the school. There were seven of them, six boys and a girl; two had dark hair and confident smirks, one was slightly overweight with a pug-like face, two were identical, with pale hair, pale faces, and bluish lips, and one had bandages wrapped around his face, and a huge fluffy, white thing on his back, for whatever reason. The only girl could have been pretty, with waist-length black hair tied at the bottom with a purple bow, if not for the ugly scowl that graced the delicate features of her face. They were making their way slowly in Gaara and company's direction.

 

“Quick, we gotta make like trees,” Tayuya said, glancing around in a frantic attempt to find a place to hide. Gaara looked over at her.

 

“What?”

 

Sasuke couldn't hold back a snigger.

 

“You know… leaf? They grow on trees? Make like a tree and leaf? Leave?” Tayuya blinked. “Any of this getting through that chipmunk head of yours?”

 

“… What?”

 

“Ah… too late,” Temari said, shaking her head.

 

“Tayuya? Is that you?” one of the guys with dark hair said. His arm was wrapped around the waist of the girl, whose eyes narrowed at the sight of the redhead.

 

Tayuya came around from behind Temari, her arms crossed. “Hey, Kidomaru. Zaku. Jiroubou. Sakon and Ukon. …Kin.” She said the girl's name with particular venom.

 

“Is that all you've got to say to me? How sad,” Kidomaru said, with an exaggerated sigh.

 

“Hi, Tayuya! Wow, it's been a long time!” one of the twins said, waving ecstatically.

 

“Shut up, Ukon,” the other twin said.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because we're trying to be dramatic.”

 

“…Oh.”

 

The largest one, identified as Jiroubou, sighed with aplomb, and shook his head.

 

“So, how have things been goin', Tay? Still single, I see? Unless one of these outstanding freshmen is your newest pick,” Kidomaru said with a laugh, looking Gaara up and down. He paused for a moment on Sasuke however, who sneered so darkly, that Kidomaru seemed a little shaken.

 

“Shut the fuck up, Kidomaru. What I'm doing ain't any of your business,” Tayuya snapped, clenching a fist.

 

“Hey, listen up, you ho,” Kin said, stepping away from Kidomaru.

 

Temari groaned inwardly.

 

`Did she REALLY just say `ho'?' she thought grudgingly, rubbing her temples. `That is so… so… SO… nineties…'

 

“I know you're jealous because Kidomaru left you for someone… BETTER,” she said, accenting her last word with a toss of her flatulent locks. “But get over yourself. He's on to better things now.”

 

Tayuya flushed a deep red, both her hands clenching into fists. She had the look of someone who could snap at any given moment. Gaara knew the feeling well.

 

Temari had heard all she could take.

 

“Okay,” she said, stepping in between Tayuya and Kin, the former's blush disappearing, and her mouth opening in surprise. “Listen up, Sweetie, `cuz I'm only going to say this once.” She looked Kin up and down. “I don't know WHAT you're trying to do here, but this whole… `Cow'… thing… It just isn't working out.”

 

Kin looked down at her black spotted mini skirt, and blushed.

 

“And I don't know what's going on with the camo-vest thing, but… really… if you're THAT insecure about yourself, why not just do what your little boyfriend over there does, and actually wear WOMEN'S clothing? See as he is so obviously wearing a dress, you two would make a positively fantabulous couple!”

 

Kidomaru looked down at his shirt, which was unusually long and dress-like, and turned slightly red.

 

Kin stared at Temari for a moment, her cheeks a dark red, before she finally said, “Stupid bitch. Let's go.” Then she turned, and the group walked off, Kin swinging her hips a little less, and Kidomaru standing up a little straighter.

 

Temari put her hands on her hips, and nodded. “Score one for the boys back home!” she said with a grin.

 

“Oh… my God…” Ten-Ten punched Temari in the arm. “That was fucking BRILLIANT!”

 

“W-Wow! T-Temari, thuh-that was suh-so c-c-cool!”

“Way to go, Sis. I didn't know you were capable of such violence,” Gaara said with a small smile. Sasuke shrugged.

 

“Nice.”

 

Tayuya blushed happily.

 

“Thanks, Tem. I almost punched her,” she said, stretching out her hands. “Good thing I didn't, right?” she said, looking nervously over to the two mall cops who were standing at the corner, conversing in low tones.

 

Temari put a hand on her shoulder.

 

“Hey, it was just payback for sticking it to Sakura. I owed you one, right?”

 

“Sure!” Tayuya said brightly.

 

Temari then looked over to Gaara, and, before he could scamper away, grabbed his wrist. Thankfully, it was his right one, not his left. The cuts were healed over now, and it didn't hurt.

 

“Now…” she began. “I believe it is time to get YOU some new clothes.”

 

Gaara's eyes widened in pure, unadulterated, PG-13 horror.

 

“No… wait… Sis… uh…NO!” But Temari was already dragging him to a most insinuating looking store, with pictures of muscular men and size zero women in the front windows. “Wait! If you take me in there… I'll… uh… PUT SNAKES IN YOUR DRESSER!”

 

“Like I haven't heard that one before,” Temari scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Now be a good boy and hold my hand. There's some stuff in here that you'll like… you just need to know where to look!”

 

Sasuke, Tayuya, Ten-Ten, and Hinata followed obediently, almost hesitant of saying anything to the Kaze sister, whose eyes were gleaming almost evilly. Even Sasuke had enough sense to remain silent.

 

Temari dragged Gaara forcefully into the store, and began digging through the racks of clothing. Ten-Ten and Tayuya gaped at the prices of the tee shirts, exchanged glances, and decided that they would blow their money somewhere else. Hinata didn't gawk for too long. She chose a few light blue shirts, and asked Ten-Ten her opinion.

 

“Sexy!” Ten-Ten exclaimed, holding the shirt up to Hinata's shoulders. “Very sexy!”

 

Hinata giggled, then went over to pay.

 

Sasuke picked through the sweatshirts, raising an eyebrow at some of the tacky styles.

 

“Try this one,” Ten-Ten offered, pulling a dark blue hoodie out of the rack. There was a red and white circle on the back. Sasuke shrugged.

 

“Sure…” he said.

 

“Okay!” Temari said finally, her arms full of dark blues and reds, with the occasional black article of clothing. “Gaara… you're going to go and try these on!” She shoved the clothes into his arms, and then shoved HIM into a dressing room. One of the store workers stared at her for a moment, but she looked over, and glared.

 

“WHAT?” she snapped, her eyes flashing. The store worker decided that he liked life too much to say anything, and scuttled away.

 

Meanwhile, Gaara dug through the pile of clothes for something acceptable to wear.

 

“What is all this… CRAP?” he demanded, pulling off his shirt.

 

“It's DESIGNER CRAP,” Temari stated. “Besides, it's all got that gothy edge to it that you seem to like so much. Live with it!”

 

Gaara pulled on a dark red, long sleeved shirt with black stripes on the sleeves, grimacing at the feeling of the unwashed fabric against his skin. Then he pulled on a pair of black cutoffs that hit him below the knees.

 

“I hate them,” he said coarsely.

 

“Wait, wait!” Temari protested. “I bought some accessories!” Then, a pair of black gloves and a pair of black and white striped socks flew over the top of the dressing room door. “Seeing as you like to be completely covered, I figured that I can understand that. However, you must do it with STYLE!”

 

“Style,” Ten-Ten and Tayuya chorused, before laughing.

 

Gaara frowned. “You already bought these?”

 

“Yes, yes, put them on so we can see how they look!” Temari said. Gaara pulled on the gloves. They came up to his elbows, and were the kind without fingers. He looked his arms up and down.

 

`Not bad,' he thought, allowing himself a grin. `Not bad at all.'

 

“Gaaaaaraaaaa… we're waaaaaaaitiiiiiiiiing…” Ten-Ten called, while everyone else laughed merrily at the redhead's expense.

 

“I hate you all,” Gaara said, stepping out of the dressing room.

 

“My, my, my!” Ten-Ten said.

 

“Ooh-la-la!” Tayuya laughed, putting her hands to her face in over-exclamation. Hinata smiled.

 

“Th-they look go-good,” she said, blushing slightly.

Temari nodded.

 

“See? See? AREN'T I good at picking out clothes?” she said, looking around.

 

Gaara looked over at Sasuke, who grinned.

 

“Not to shabby, Kaze,” he said, with a small laugh. “You cleaned up pretty nice!”

 

“Shut up, Uchiha,” Gaara said, punching the taller boy in the arm, with a small laugh. Sasuke pretended to writhe in pain.

 

“Ooh, Gaara, your punches hurt so bad!” he said, still grinning.

 

“O h, I'll show you hurt!” Gaara started, but not before Temari grabbed him, and THREW him back into the dressing room.

 

“Not until you're done trying everything on!” she commanded, slamming the door shut, and leaning against it so Gaara could not escape.

 

“Temari…” Gaara moaned, pulling off the shirt.

 

“Shut up and get dressed!”

 

They didn't get out of the store until an hour later. Temari had paid for five shirts, three pairs of pants, several pairs of socks, and the gloves, all for Gaara. She had bought herself two denim skirts, and three tee shirts.

 

“Now where to?” she said, swinging the full plastic bags at her waist. “Any opinions?”

 

Gaara was in slight shock. How could these girls continue shopping after that experience? All he wanted to do was go home and go to bed…

 

Sasuke was in equal disarray. He had purchased the sweatshirt that Ten-Ten had picked out, deciding that it would have to do. But that was MORE than enough shopping for him for one day… for the WEEK, even…

 

“Bed…” he moaned. “I want… BED…”

 

Gaara nodded. He was still wearing the gloves (having refused to take them off).

 

“Bed…?” Ten-Ten frowned. Then she gasped. “BED! Yes! Perfect idea, Sasuke!” Then she pointed down the lane of the mall. “Let's go jump on the mattresses in Bed King until they throw us out again!”

 

“Yeah!” Tayuya agreed. “Guys? Are you IN?”

 

Hinata's eyes widened.

 

“B-But thuh-thuh-that cuh-can't be suh-safe…!” she protested, as Ten-Ten and Tayuya ignored her and began dragging the freshman in the direction of the Bed King.

 

“Gentlemen? Temari? Shall we?” Ten-Ten said.

 

Temari grinned evilly, then walked after Ten-Ten, Tayuya, and Hinata. “Come on, boys! The beds await!”

 

“Bed…?”

 

“Bed!” Sasuke said with a grin, before grabbing Gaara's hand, and pulling him after the girls. Gaara forgot about his earlier protests, and allowed himself to be strung along by Sasuke.

 

Ten-Ten skipped into the store, and up to one of the assistants. “Excuse me, …Jack?” she said, pausing to read the man's nametag.

 

Now, Jack, though not a very important character, had a very important job at Bed King. He greeted the customers. If the customers did not get a happy greetings, who's to say that they would even feel like STAYING? They might go on over across the hall to Mattress Queen, Bed King's ultimate rival. Jack HATED Mattress Queen with a passion, but he loved his job. It put bread on the table for his two children, and his wife, Marcy.

 

“Hello! Welcome to Bed King! How may I help you today?” he said, his clean-shaven face sparkling in the bright lights.

 

“Hello, I'd like to see your most bouncy mattress, please,” Ten-Ten said, putting on the face of someone who was actually interested in buying a bed.

 

“Of course! Right this way, ma'am,” Jack said, leading Ten-Ten into the store. She motioned for her posse to follow, which they did, glancing around the store as they walked.

 

“Here we are,” Jack said, coming to a halt at a king-sized, blue plush bed. “The Spring Master 6000. Hot off the assembly line,” he laughed, crossing his arms.

 

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm,” Ten-Ten said, nodding, and examining the mattress. “So… how much weight could this sucker hold up?” she asked.

 

“Oh, the weight of an African bull elephant,” Jack said, nodding.

 

“So… it would hold up the weight of, say… six teenagers?” she asked casually, leaning one hand down onto the mattress. Jack's smile was only enhanced. Always agree with the customers!

 

“But of course,” he said, with a nod.

 

“So, you wouldn't mind if I tried it out, would you?” she asked, quirking a brow. Jack shook his head.

 

“Of course not! Be my guest,” he said, gesturing to the bed. Ten-Ten smiled.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” she said. “We have a winner.” Then, without warning, she leaped up onto the bed, and began jumping on it. “Whooo! This really is bouncy!”

 

“I'm coming in!” Tayuya announced, dropping her bag, and jumping up next to Ten-Ten. Temari joined them, grabbing Gaara, and pulling him up too.

 

“Come on, Sasuke!” she cried, jumping.

 

Sasuke stared up at them for a moment, before shrugging, and jumping up as well. Hinata was the only one left on the ground. She glanced around, and sighed.

 

“Wh-why not?” she muttered. “WHEE!” Then she jumped up with everyone else, and began hopping up and down.

 

“WoAH thIS is REAlly BOUNcy!” Tayuya said, her words changing tone as she jumped.

 

“GRAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Jack flailed about the bed, trying to catch hold of one of the teens, but failing. “GET DOWN, CHILDREN! DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!”

 

Gaara felt like any moment he would fall, but he found Sasuke's hand on his arm, and as they bounced, he realized that he had never felt better.

 

“This is CRAZY!” he said, looking over at Sasuke, who nodded. At least, Gaara thought he was nodding. He couldn't really tell.

 

In the end, poor Jack was pushed nearly to tears. He had been the only one on shift, and this caused Ten-Ten to finally give up her jumping anarchy, and motion for everyone else too, as well.

 

“Sorry, Jack,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We… didn't… mean it?” she said, looking to everyone for support.

 

“Uh, yeah,” Tayuya said, catching on. “We're sorry.”

 

“Totally.”

 

“Y-Yes.”

 

“Hm.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

Gaara looked over to Sasuke to see if he found this as ridiculous as he did. Their gazes met, and for a second, Gaara felt that he might burst out laughing. Sasuke motioned with his head that just the two of them should start slowly backing out of the store, which they did, one step at a time.

 

It wasn't until they were just a few feet from the entrance that Gaara felt a cold hand press itself down onto the back of his neck, and Sasuke the same. They turned simultaneously, and Gaara's eyes widened.

 

“Oh… shit…”

 

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Kat: -flounders about- GRAH! The ending stank like old cheese, I know. - -0 Uh… review? Please? I promise, I'll respond next time! Really! I'm just running out of time… I need to go shower and eat before I go to a movie tonight with my buddy, Maddy. XD Doncha hate the cliffies?

 

All right, please review! AND MY MUSE WILL TAKE HER CLOTHES OFF!

 

Karene: FINALLY! XD